


What’s in a Name?

by CallmeCordelia



Category: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (TV 2018)
Genre: Developing Relationship, Family Bonding, Flashbacks, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Other, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Sister-Sister Relationship, Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-25
Updated: 2020-02-25
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:48:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22891972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CallmeCordelia/pseuds/CallmeCordelia
Summary: Names have power, both to hurt and to heal.
Relationships: Hilda Spellman & Zelda Spellman, Prudence Night & Zelda Spellman
Comments: 16
Kudos: 60





	What’s in a Name?

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: in addition to being canon divergent, this work contains a PTSD flashback and references to sexual assault

One week. One week had elapsed since the end of everything. One week since her family had taken down the tyrant she'd dedicated her life to. One week since the majority of the coven had been poisoned by yet another monster she'd foolishly allowed herself to trust.

“Think you’ll make it down to breakfast today, Zelds?”

It had also been one week since Hilda returned to their room.

Zelda gave a non-committal hum, her full attention focused on the Herculean task of wrangling Leticia’s squirming toes into booties.

“Got my hands a bit full these days with all those little ones and rowdy teenagers. You know the adults are taking a little longer to recover. Most are still on bedrest. Another set of hands’d be a big help.” In the immediate aftermath, Zelda had been inexhaustible in caring for the health of her coven members. Hilda was renowned for her abilities as a healer, but Zelda could always be counted upon in a crisis. It was once the initial danger had passed and all that was left was the slow recovery that she pulled away.

“The teenagers should contribute to the running of the household. It’ll be good for them to have something to do with their day. Besides I’ve got my hands full as well these days, haven’t I, my darlings?”

Bottle tucked beneath her chin and babe cradled in her arms, Zelda flipped open the heavy tome she had been reading late into the night and began scribbling notes. The sight called back memories nearly 16 years old. Another little girl nestled in her sister’s arms as she went about her day, keeping busy, always busy. No time for grief.

Hilda hovered in the doorway, clearly reluctant to let the matter drop. “Sabrina sets your place every day. Newspapers, ashtray, your favourite espresso cup, everything laid out just so. No one’s allowed to take your seat, no matter how crowded things get. I think- I think you should come down, if only for her sake.”

“Fine.” Zelda dropped the pen and released a world-weary sigh. There were times when Hilda could play her like a fiddle. "Let me finish feeding them."

“Why don’t I send Prudence up? She asks after them most mornings, prickly as ever, but I suspect she could use some quality time with her siblings. Plus, she and Ambrose ate with the first shift.” Hilda'd noticed over the last several days that Zelda, busy as she kept herself, hadn’t let the babes leave her sight. Their crib was situated next to the vanity-turned-desk where she could watch over them as she worked. Her hypervigilance, while understandable, was beginning to take its toll in the form of missed meals and dark circles under her eyes. Not that she could say as much to Zelda. "Come on, Zelds. It'd do Prudence some good."

“I suppose that would be acceptable.”

Half an hour and much fretting later, Zelda found herself wading through the bustling kitchen. A hush fell, a dozen pairs of eyes following her as she made her way to the head of the table. She settled into her seat, snapping open Le Monde*, but even as Hilda poured her usual espresso and slid a plate of lavender lemon scones before her, the chatter didn't resume. Lowering the corner of the newspaper, she was met once again with curious stares.

“Damned morning.” She greeted them, asking herself why in the name of Beelzebub she had agreed to subject herself to this. But one look at Sabrina, positively beaming, was reminder enough.

The cup had just reached her lips when the mumbled chorus of ‘Damned morning, Lady Blackwood’ reached her ears.

Her skin prickled. Vision tunneled. The thundering in her ears drowned out the noisy room. She choked, sputtering black coffee. _Only it wasn't coffee..._

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_It was tea, sickeningly sweet and scalding on her tongue. **He** was there, looming over her._

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_"Drink up, Lady Blackwood."_

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_"Come here, Lady Blackwood."_

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_"On your knees, Lady Blackwood."_

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A hand grasped her above the elbow and her body lurched, violently recoiling from the touch.

“Are you alright, Lady Blackwood?”

“ **I am not Lady Blackwood!** ” The sound of something shattering brought her back to the kitchen.

Zelda found herself standing in the middle of the room. Hilda was positioned between Zelda and the children, hands raised, but not touching. "Zelds, it's alright. You're safe. I'm right here."

Glancing over her sister's shoulder, Zelda could see coffee splattered and dripping down the wall, shards of porcelain strewn across the floor. The children were huddled together, cowering from her, and Sabrina... Zelda would never forget the look of horror in her girl's eyes.

She bolted, stumbling up the stairs as the burn of shame and bile was creeping up her throat. Slamming the door shut behind her, Zelda fumbled for her cigarette holder. The damn thing slipped from her grasp and, in her frustration, she kicked it, sending it sliding up under the armoire. Her head fell back hard against the door. Her breaths were coming in bursts. Quivering fingertips massaged her chest, willing the tension trapped there to ease. When it did, a sound escaped, the likes of which she had never made before and prayed to Lilith she would never make again.

The clearing of a throat startled her and she looked up to find Prudence settling her brother back into the crib. Zelda brushed off her skirt, a glamour snapping into place, as if that could erase her shame. Prudence, to her credit, made no comment. Zelda busied her hands with needless tidying to disguise their shaking.

“Thank you, Prudence. That’ll be all.”

“I could stay a few minutes more?"

“Not now.” Zelda gave a definitive shake of her head and gestured toward the door.

"Please, I- I wish to make unholy confession.”

Curse her! Prudence knew that Zelda couldn’t deny one of her coven a chance to unburden themselves. It was one of the most important duties of a High Priestess.

“Very well,” she huffed begrudgingly. As the girl made to kneel before her, Zelda conjured a pair of armchairs from the study. Seating herself, she waited for Prudence to do the same.

Once both were settled stiffly in their chairs, avoiding eye contact at all cost, an uncomfortable silence fell. Minutes crept by. Her fingers tapped restlessly at the arm of the chair until finally she gave in and conjured a cigarette. And then another. Lighting her third one, she snapped.

 _“Well?”_ Zelda knew her irritation was misdirected, but she could still feel her hands trembling. Fearing that another moment of weakness, another loss of control, was inevitable, she felt the need to isolate herself from them all, especially from the girl who had witnessed so much of her humiliation.

Ducking her head, Prudence began. “I fear that I'm a wicked creature, beyond absolution.”

“Lilith is not Lucifer. She pardons the contrite.” Her tone was formal and as rigid as her spine.

“It’s not to Lilith that I confess.”

Zelda’s brow creased, concerned that the girl was going to insist on submitting to their deposed Dark Lord.

“My crimes are not against the Mother of Demons, but against a fellow witch, one whom I have admired all my life.” Prudence chanced a half glance at Zelda before continuing. “I betrayed her in the worst way. I knew what Bla- what _he_ was, what he was doing, but I turned a turned a blind eye. I made excuses for his cruelty. I did nothing, let him hurt the witch.”

Zelda gripped the chair hard, shaking her head and desperately trying to block out the terror that threatened to overtake her again.

“And when she finally managed to free herself, I sold her out.” Prudence’s voice was thick as she fought back tears.

“Stop!” Zelda shoved out of the chair, pacing away, toward where she didn’t know. The house was full to the brim with recuperating witches, the gardens as well, and now even her own room wasn't safe.

“I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness, nor the kindness and care that your family has bestowed on me and my sisters, but I- I have to say that I’m sorry. I should’ve-”

“Prudence, stop it!” Her vision was narrowing again. The room felt too close. The air was stifling, dense with mingled panic and magic to the extent that even the babes felt it. Their wailing broke her concentration, but also worked to distract her and pull her back from spiralling. Zelda scooped up Leticia and settled on the edge of her bed, rocking as much for her own benefit as for the babe's. She said nothing as Prudence followed suit, gathering her brother into her arms and, after a moment’s hesitation, sitting a short distance away.

A tap at the door startled her, but it was only Hilda, bearing a tray of scones and two steaming cups.

"Everything alright, loves?" She passed a cup to Zelda, her tone carefully light.

"Yes, Hilda. Everything's fine." Zelda lifted the cup to find Hilda's calming brew in place of espresso. Swirling it, she breathed in the aroma before sipping.

"I had a little chat with the kids," Hilda said cryptically, waiting for Prudence to accept her cup. "Don't think we'll have to worry about a repeat of this morning."

"Thank you." Zelda blinked back the guilt that surged within her at the reminder of her exaggerated reaction.

"I'll just be downstairs if you need anything. Either of you." She winked at Prudence before slipping out the door.

They once again sat in uneasy silence until Zelda could stand it no longer. “I will say this and then we will never speak of it again. I forgive you. I forgave you long ago. It was wrong of me to blame you in the first place. You may resent hearing this, but you’re still so young. To crave the love and acceptance of a father-”

“He’s _not_ my father.” The bitterness of her tone couldn't quite mask the hurt.

Zelda's hand twitched toward the girl, the need to comfort nearly overcoming her aversion to touch. “But you want a family.”

Prudence’s averted gaze spoke volumes.

“You no longer wish to bear his name, understandably, and have never wanted to be a Night…” Zelda licked her suddenly too dry lips, her own gaze carefully trained on a now calm Leticia. “I thought- Well… You could take the Spellman name... if you like.”

From the corner of her eye, she saw Prudence’s head snap around to face her. “Why would you want me? The twins I understand, but I’m nothing to you, nothing but his accomplice.”

As the silence stretched between them, Zelda struggled to put her feelings into words. Instead she settled for mentally cataloging the facts. Theirs was a complicated history. Yes, there was the betrayal, to say nothing of her harrowing Sabrina, but it was Prudence who Zelda had chosen to help bring the twins into the world. She risked _his_ ire by lying to conceal Leticia, by releasing Zelda from the witch’s cell. She stayed behind to protect her siblings in spite of the danger. She had rescued the two precious babes before their father could spirit them away. She alerted them to the poisoning and helped to save 34 coven members.

“You’re not nothing to me. And I hope you will consider the offer. It extends it to your sisters as well. We Spellmans are an unconventional family to say the least, but a family nonetheless.”

“That was the real reason I used to hate Sabrina. It wasn't because she was half-mortal- well, it wasn't only that. She'd lost her parents, but she was never an orphan. She had a family. She had _you_.”

“It’s not too late for you to have a family, too.” Zelda swallowed the last dregs of the calming brew, allowing it to take effect as Prudence contemplated the offer.

“What would I call you?”

“Oh..." The question caught her off guard. "Well, Ambrose and Sabrina call me 'Auntie Zee', but that's perhaps a little juvenile for you. 'Zelda' is fine when we're in private or... ”

“They’ll grow up to call you 'mother'.” Prudence’s expression was neutral as she eyed the twins.

“You don’t have to. I understand-”

“And if… If I wanted to?”

Zelda blinked rapidly, determined to maintain the tenuous control she had over her emotions. “If you wanted to, I would not be opposed... In fact, I would be honoured.”

Prudence’s cheeks glowed as she smiled shyly, for once looking like the young girl she was rather than the mature, cynical witch she had had to be. “ _Prudence Spellman._ ” She tested the name under her breath.

The babe in her arms gave a squawk, causing Zelda's hesitant smile to widen into a proper grin. “You approve of your sister’s name, don’t you, Letty?”

“Leticia is a beautiful name.” Prudence inched closer to smile at the babe. “Certainly better than Judith.” <

“It suits her.”

Judas cooed, drawing their attention. “I don’t think 'Judas' suits him.”

Zelda was too ashamed to admit that she hadn’t spoken the boy’s name since they were rescued, instead referring to him as ‘darling’ or her ‘little prince’. “Well then, what shall we call him?”

“You want me to choose?”

“Who better than his big sister?” She allowed herself a nostalgic smile, remembering kissing downy, blonde curls and whispering ‘Hildie’.

“Sebastian.” Her answer was immediate, if not entirely confident.

“A fine name.” It may not have been the name Zelda would have chosen, but it clearly meant something to Prudence. “And an alliterative one. My brother would approve.”

They shared a laugh. “I hope my brother will.”

“What do you think, Sebastian Spellman? Hmm? Do you like your name?” The boy squealed in delight when Zelda leaned in and used the silly voice that was reserved for babies.

“They’re lucky to have you.” Zelda glanced up to find a misty-eyed Prudence watching her. “We all are… _mother_.”

**Author's Note:**

> I didn’t really like the way they glossed over the ‘Lady Blackwood’ incident in part three. I also needed Prudence & Zelda bonding time as well as more of Hilda looking after Zelda.
> 
> Also, the name Sebastian is a reference to the character from Twelfth Night.
> 
> *Le Mondi is a popular French newspaper


End file.
